


Miraculous

by halcyyonn



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Identity Reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23945155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halcyyonn/pseuds/halcyyonn
Summary: After Ladybug's identity is revealed, Marinette loses her miraculous and has to adjust to her new life.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 26





	Miraculous

**Author's Note:**

> This is written around a quote from the actual show, but in a different context.

_ I didn’t think losing my miraculous would make everything turn out this badly. I know I should be positive, but it’s hard because everything has changed so much so quickly. Experiencing loss is part of life, but right now I wish it wasn’t. _

Marinette felt like she had lost everything since an akuma had managed to reveal her identity. Just by having one of her earrings removed, she had lost her secret identity and returned to being Marinette Dupain-Cheng in front of the entirety of Paris. No matter where she looked, she saw her own face staring back at her. Not Ladybug, but Marinette. She had grown so used to seeing herself with the mask and suit that it was jarring to see herself without it, especially so frequently. 

Her diary was becoming a place of solace rather than a place to hide her secrets, a place she could spill her feelings onto paper without having to explain any of them. Too many people asked questions she couldn’t answer, wanted explanations she couldn’t give them. It was overwhelming, especially when there wasn’t a mask to hide behind, another name to use.

She didn’t have Tikki to confide in anymore. When Master Fu had found about her identity being revealed, he had taken the ladybug miraculous back. While Marinette knew it was the right thing to do, it hurt. Losing something so important to you cut deep, more than any betrayal, sharper than any knife but also blunter than any punch. It was a dull ache and a stabbing feeling at the same time, both sensations fighting for control of her, to be the only thing she could feel.

Maybe being numb was better than this. Marinette Dupain-Cheng could barely leave her house without being swarmed by paparazzi and fans, all bombarding her with questions about who would take her place and how she felt about the akuma that revealed her identity.

Of course, she felt no animosity towards the child that been akumatised, she only wished things could have been different. That had been something she explained when she actually spoke to the news after the reveal, but it was a question that was asked over and over again. 

_ I haven’t been able to get into contact with Chat Noir recently, either. It feels like he’s been avoiding me after everything that’s happened, whether it was his own idea, Plagg’s, or Master Fu’s. I just want to talk to him one more time, to clear everything up. He was my partner for so long, and now it feels like he’s been avoiding me. _

That was another thing that had been following her around. She hadn’t even heard so much as a peep from her former partner. He knew where she lived, they had worked together to defeat Evillustrator, but he just hadn’t come. Marinette had spent hours and hours on her balcony, waiting for any sign of the hero. No matter how long she waited, Marinette was always disappointed. Chat Noir hadn’t even appeared on the news, leading civilians to think that both heroes had lost their miraculous.

It was a silly conspiracy at best, but the longer Chat Noir’s disappearance continued, the more plausible it was becoming that Fu had taken both miraculous stones back. There was no way Marinette could find out, either. With journalists following her everywhere, she was trapped. Going to Master Fu’s would only put him in danger of Hawk Moth finding him, which Marinette would never allow. She didn’t even go to school normally anymore, breaking that pattern would only bring suspicion where suspicion didn’t belong. 

The isolation only made Marinette miss her friends more. She hadn’t seen them in so long, mostly keeping in touch through texts and the occasional phone call. From what a few of her friends had said, Marinette managed to piece together that Lila had completely taken over the school, claiming she would be the next Ladybug. Everyone seemed to have believed her, even though Marinette desperately hoped Adrien still knew about Lila’s lies. Losing another person to Lila would be torturous.

Alya had been so mad about Marinette keeping her identity secret that she had completely changed the Ladyblog to the Lilablog, refusing to even listen to what Marinette had to say. She considered it a grave betrayal that Marinette had kept something so large hidden from her, even though Marinette only did it to keep everyone around her safe. Alya just refused to speak to Marinette. She had cut all contact.

That hurt nearly as much as losing her miraculous. Alya had been her best friend since they met, when Marinette had bought macaroons to class. They had stood up to Chloe together, shared secrets only best friends knew, spent more time together than doing almost anything else. And yet, none of that mattered now. It was all gone, washed away in a tide of broken promises and memories that would fade into nothingness. 

But there was nothing she could do now, short of rewinding time and changing the past. That was impossible, though, for she didn’t have any miraculous, Bunnyx hadn’t arrived from the future, and there was no way she could contact Master Fu or Chat Noir. The only thing she could do was sit and wait for everything to blow over, for her fifteen minutes in the spotlight to pass so she could go back to being Marinette Dupain-Cheng alone, not Ladybug and her civilian self at the same time.

Anonymity was something that she missed, not having to worry about everyone knowing everything about you, just being allowed to exist peacefully until you decided otherwise. Then, your world would change, and you could change with it. Change wasn’t as scary when it was your choice, not something chosen for you.

Loss was jarring, regardless of who or what you lost. Whether losing a part of your life or someone you thought you were close to, it was unexpected. Marinette could attest to that now, especially with everything changing in her life so quickly. She just had to look on the bright side, like she always did. There was a way to continue forward, even if she didn’t have a miraculous to help her.

_ Experiencing loss is a part of life. But good things can come too, expect the unexpected. And embrace it. _


End file.
